I actually think only 3 things matter.
1) Innate Talent (you called this Athletic Ability, but I’d say the talent has to be specific to skiing)
2) Identity as a top performing skier
3) commitment to achieve
These feed on each other one way or another. If you have the talent, then this usually feeds the identity. The more you identify as a top performer, the higher your commitment to achieve. If you have the commitment, then you’ll figure out the details such as equipment and technique. My experience is that one of the three will plateau and cause the other 2 to follow.
I don’t know you, but if you have the talent then it’s just about how far you think you can go, and what you are willing to do to get there. I’m well beyond the time where I could ever achieve a fraction that you have. Maybe when I learned to ski at 12, if I’d have identified myself as a top performer instead of focusing on getting bikinis in my boat it would have been different. I’m happy with where I am, though.
And I agree with everyone else. I don’t believe one moment at the end of the rope on a ski behind a boat could ever be considered as “waste”.